Wednesday, March 18 - Left Payson  at 8:30 am after a breakfast of peach danish and mini donuts.  Real nourishing, but that was a Wal-mart special.  We traveled as far as Lehi where we stopped at Cabela's.  What a store!  Everything outdoors sports, hunting, campimg. fishing plus the displays of wild North American and African animals in their natuve habitat.  On the walls they have mounted fish of all kinds.  They even have an old hunter outside his canvas tent who talkes about the animals (when you press the button).  We left there and drove directly to my sister, Shirley's in Taylorsville, arriving at 11:15 am.  Lunch was at Golden Corral then we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting and watching Glenn Beck.

Another great day of sunshine but not quite as warm as we have been used to.  We will leave Taylorsville on Friday morning as the forecast is for snow and we want to be home before it does.  We should be in Calgary Saturday.

Tuesday, March 17 - Happy St. Patricks Day!   It is pack up and leave day for Ron & Winona and Richard & Ivy and Jeanne & Gordon.  It is amazing how quickly you get to know people here in the desert and how hard it is to say goodbye.  Plans are to meet here again next year.  We pulled out around 10:30 am and drove to Overton Beach to dump.  The water in Lake Mead has receded so much that the marina at Overton Beach has been removed from the area.  This picture shows a house boat stranded.  If you look closely on the far side of the picture you will notice some lighter rock.  That is the high water mark of the lake in its earlier days.  We stopped at the CasaBlanca Casino in Mesquite for lunch.  It was +77 F when we left there at 1:15 pm.  Saw some boondocking on the Black Rock Road 8 miles south of St. George, but it was too early for us to stop.  We saw that "S" stuff in small amounts in the ditch south of Cedar City.  Took a few pictures today as we drove through the Virgin River gorge, but having a difficult time getting them uploaded.  We stopped for the night at Wal-mart in Payson, Utah.

Monday, March 16  day dawned sunny and warm.  No need for layers of clothing for our ride today.  The first picture is of the Fish Fry on Saturday. The group gathered around 10:00 am to head west into the hills surrounding Overton.  It was a great day for a ride.  We got on the wrong trails a few times which took us nowhere, but we just took another trail.  We ate lunch inside an old mine.  Jeanne got just inside the mouth of it and that was the extent of her venturing.  It was cool inside so for that reason it was a great place to lunch.  After lunch, as we were traveling to another old mine site there were places on the trail that were wet.  We did a lot of walking as the gorges were too small to ride the quads through.  It rewarded us greatly as we came upon a pool of water, with just a trickle running down from the rocks above.  Gordon stepped into the sand at water's edge but he was sinking quickly, so changed his mind about going any further.  There were rocks that could have been climbed, if any of us had been younger than 60, to see if there was water pooling up above, or if it was just a spring up there trickling down.  Where are grandkids when you need them.  Even though we didn't get to the place where we had originally planned, we had a wonderful ride.  After the ride we drove to the Valley of Fire for a shower.  25 cents for 5 minutes in nice clean surroundings and nice hot water.

After supper we visited with Winona, Ron, Glade & Kathy.  Went to bed early as we have a busy day tomorrow.

Sunday, March 15 - Another month half over. Yesterday was a very busy day.  We got up early and made potato salad for 20 people.  Then we rushed to town to get dessert for an evening meal.  Originally we were just going to play cards at Fay and Robert's but she changed her mind and made it supper to help clear the freezer before going home.

Went to Connie & Terry's at 2:30 for a pot luck fish fry.  There was oodles of beer batter fried striper bass fish caught in Lake Mead.  Terry has caught 60 in three fishing trips.  It was very tasty.  He wanted to get rid of some fish as their freezer was full and he wanted to go fishing a time or two before they go home.  There is no limit on the amount of fish taken under 20" in length.  There was 14 at the fish fry and enjoyed a wonderful meal.  However, we left there and sat around for about an hour then went on to a lasagna supper.  We took the potato salad to the fish fry and strawberry shortcake to the supper.  After supper we played "Hand and Foot" for three hours.  -  Very busy day.

Today Lucille & Bert picked Jeanne up for Church.  After lunch we made bread then Gordon went horizontal for a snooze until Ron came over to invite us to join them for Mexican Train.  It took until 6:30 to play one game.  Lots of fun.  Sandwiches for supper after a hard day on the desert.   

Friday, March 13 - Sunny and very windy on the top of this mesa we are camped on.  We finally crawled out of bed at 8:30 and Jeanne went for a 2.5 km walk trying to get some pictures to show where we are camped, but had to delete them later on in the day.

While Gordon was making toast (cooking on the stove outside) for our toast & tomato breakfast, Glade and his neighbor Ron came over to invite us to a fish fry on Saturday afternoon.  There is no limit to the number of fish one can catch in Lake Mead, and the boys had been out the day before and caught 24.  Everyone is heading home soon and their freezer is full, thus the fish fry.

Around 11:00 am we drove south 11 km to the Valley of Fire State Park.  Capturing the grandeur on our digital camera is impossible, but we took a camera full of photos and had to delete the ones Jeanne took during her morning walk to make room for a few more.  Hope you can get some idea of the vastness and the beauty of this land.  Valley of Fire was Nevada's first state park, so designated in the 20ies.  The winter temperatures range from freezing to 75 F.  Summer highs usually exceed 100 F and can reach 120 F.  They have an average yearly rainfall of 4".  The plant community is dominated by widely spaced creosote bush, burro bush, and brittlebush, with several cactus species, including beaver tail and cholla are also common.  Also common are several species of lizards and snakes, coyote, kit fox, skunk, jackrabbit and antelope ground squirrel.  We saw no wildlife while in the park.  The second and third from the last of the pictures were taken directly across the road from each other.  The last picture shows, in the far distance, the Mormon Mesa we rode up and over yesterday.  There is a little white spot about in the middle just below the furtherest mountains which is the letter "M" on the side of the Mesa.  After our return from the Valley of Fire we drove into town to get some things to make potato salad for the potluck tomorrow.  Gord made popcorn and we read our books then went to bed early.  It got up to 72F today.

Thursday, March 12 . . . 7:30 am looked out our west window and saw the moon setting.  A few minutes later looked out our east window and saw the sun rising.  It was quite chilly this morning as we headed out on our quads with Glade & Kathy, their friends Lucille and Robert, Faye and her hubby and another fellow (too many names to remember all at once).  We left at 10:00 am or 11:00 am depending on which state's time you are on.  For us, we have no idea what time it is after daylight savings came in.  Arizona does not change, so that makes Arizona and California the same time, but where does that put Nevada and Utah????????  We don't know.  However, it was 11:00 am on our clock when we left.  We are parked about six miles south of Overton, NV and can't ride our quads to town, so Glade loaded up Gord's quad in his truck box so Gord wouldn't have to make two trips.  We rode to the top of Mormon Mesa to the east of Overton and saw some different country again.  This was the most sand we had ridden in.  I wouldn't want to be out there in a wind storm.  It was fun and interesting, although it was much slower that our usual rides.  Got back to town around 5:00 am our time very weary and dusty after a 35 mile ride.  A deep bath tub and a huge water heater would be really nice right about now.  Glade said to keep the machines loaded in case we go out again tomorrow, this time heading to the west.  We shall see.  Lucille invited us to join them on Saturday evening to play cards.  They are members of our Church and are going to the Temple tomorrow so they will not be riding with us.   About 7:30 we went back into town to get gas in case we do ride tomorrow.  Stopped at the ice cream parlor for a treat.  Here are some photos from today's ride.  

Wednesday, March 11, 2009  Woke up at 7:00 am with the moon shooting beams into our window and the next thing we know the peace is shattered by some construction equipment being started. . .oh how they moaned and complained because it was so cold, -- +40F inside the trailer. Finally the warm oil got to pumping through their veins which made them sound much better, and then the operator put them into reverse. . . .How we hate to hear that BEEP BEEP of equipment backing up!  By this time it was 7:30 so Jeanne arose and went for a walk while Gordon dilly dallied in the nice warm bed.  Jeanne walked around the long term area which is three streets of park model trailers with their Arizona rooms attached.  Then she walked down to the marina parking area.  Lake Mead is down sooo much from the high water line,  the marina is quite a way from the club house.  Callville Bay is pretty, but Jeanne went this morning without the camera, so we have only a few pictures.  This is us, getting ready to leave our one night stay at Callville Bay.  The next picture is taken of the park from the dump station.  The others were snapped as we traveled the four miles from the Bay to the main road.  The sign is across the road from the stop sign as we turned towards Overton.

We traveled about 40 miles today and we took 117 pictures. We can't begin to explain the magnificence we experienced today.  As we left the park at 10:45 the sun was just at Jeanne's shoulder, so some of the pictures taken of her side of the road are in shadow, so she would like to drive back without the trailer so we can pull into the few pullouts there were.  

Our camping spot for the next few days is on top of a bald faced mountain.  There isn't a bush or growth of any kind on the flat, but it is free camping.  We are about 6 miles south of Overton.  Met a couple, Glade & Kathy from Heber City, Utah and are going quading with them tomorrow.  As we can't ride from here, he has Gordon's machine loaded on his truck, Jeanne's machine is in our truck and Glade is pulling a quad trailer for his two machines.  Should be a very interesting day. I hope we can stop lots for pictures.  Maybe tomorrow night we can send more pictures of our last 40 miles of highway.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Up early to complete our packing up and hooking up and pulling out.  It was going okay until Ed came to say goodbye and Chuck stopped in to bid us adios.  Then as we were pulling out Gloria and Glen came out to the road to wish us a safe journey.  10:05 saw us pull out from the RV Pit Stop where we topped up the propane and water and headed north on 95 to Parker. There were a few tears shed as we traveled down the highway.  I can't imagine how hard it would be to leave if we had been the first, not the second to last, of the group.   The only one left is Chuck. Between Quartzsite and Parker (second picture) the grass was getting knee high.  We had been told that many years ago there was 75,000 head of cattle grazing in the area.  Around Quartzsite we found it hard to believe, but seeing how high the grass is further north (it is 30 miles to Parker) one could almost see those cattle grazing today.  From Parker we went to Lake Havasu.  What a pretty place.  Next year we would like to make a day trip up to see what all is there.  The lake was very pretty in the morning sun.  The drive was very scenic but was hard pulling, so we turned off 95 onto I40 and went through Needles, California.  Picked up 95 again and lunched on a salad at MacDonald's in Searchlight, Nevada.  Left there at 2:35 pm heading north on 95.  Sunny, +55F, high winds, dust hazard.    Thought we would camp at the Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino just out of Henderson, but they had no camping, so we moved on.  Ended up making not the right turn and ended up in Boulder City but that was okay by me. We were driving along the shoreline of Lake Mead (third and fourth pictures).  It is unbelievable how low the lake is from its high water mark.  Our destination is Overton, Nevada but it really doesn't matter when we arrive, so a wrong turn only lead to something else.  We are camped for the night in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area at Callville Bay.  The last picture is the view we had as we rounded the bend to Callville Bay.  Hope to do a bit of exploring to see what is here before leaving tomorrow.  Hope you are all warm and enjoying good health.

Sunday, March 8, 2009 - Jeanne went to Church.  They are back to one set of meetings because so many people have left, which began at 10:00 am.  It is nice to be back to 10:00 am - 9:00 was a bit early, because one needed to be there by 8:25 to get a seat in the Chapel.  Today wasn't as warm as we have seen it as it only got up to +74F.  One good thing about the cooler nights and days is that the snakes aren't likely to be underfoot when we walk around camp.  At 3:30 pm we took our popcan cactus over to the Olliver's who are going to store it for us over the summer.  They rent a spot in an RV Park and have a storage shed.  We visited with them, enjoying a piece of carrot cake as well, until 5:00 pm when we had to pick up Glen, April and Chuck as we were all going for supper as a final "so long, see ya next year"!  

Monday, March 9 - It was only 45F this morning, a bit cloudy and windy and the day didn't improve much.  Yesterday we began our preparations for leaving Quartzsite.  Glen & April left this morning and Gordon and Chuck went to an ATV meeting.  There is supposedly a new Arizona license we need to purchase, but no two people seem to have the same information on it.  There is a group of people who are trying to get the BLM land shut down to quads.  Not to motorcycles, dune buggies or jeeps, just quads, so a club has been formed to protest this move.

While they were gone, our neighbor Ron brought over two chocolate and two cherry crepes.  We are going to miss Ron and Jerilyn as neighbors.  We spent most of the day cleaning up, packing up and loading up.  The quads are loaded and the pickup box and quad box are full.  Inside everything is ready to go so in the morning we have to hook up and head out.  Our first stop will be Parker, then on to Overton, Nevada.  We are planning on staying there for a few days.  After visiting with Bruce and Doris this evening we may meet up with them in Overton.   -26C isn't real enticing to hurry home for.  It has been a wonderful experience here in Quartzsite this winter.  People who have been here other years say that this winter weather has been especially good.  Some years it was so cold, wet and windy that they didn't leave their RV's for several days at a time.  It is a good thing we didn't face much weather like that or I doubt both of us would be alive.  We have met some very nice people and had some great fun.  Glen figured we had put 1,014 miles on the quads in the last five months.  We are all looking forward to meeting in Quartzsite in the fall.

Friday, March 6 Today we had some friends and neighbors over to share a dutch oven black forest soda cake and ice cream.  Tonight Hans & Maria went to the jam with us. It was our last jam as they are leaving in the morning...it is getting rather sad around here with everyone packing up and heading home.

Friday, March 6 - Cool morning +59F at 9:00 am with a cloudy sky.  I am going to try to upload some more pictures from our ride yesterday which was north west of Quartzsite. Here are some pictures of the desert in bloom.